Lichen tree
|image= |kingdom=Fungi }} The lichen tree is a type of large, superficially tree-like lichen populating the Northern Forest of Pangaea II in 200 million AD. They are a keystone species of the lichen forest biome. Evolution lichens had branch-like structures, none grew very large.]] As it is not an individual organism, the lichen tree did not strictly speaking evolve in the conventional sense of the term. Lichens were allowed to grow into larger, more complex forms due to greater buildups of dead fungus in the trunk-like core, thanks to the dark and damp environmental conditions of the Northern Forest, and the lack of competition due to the wet environment and the catastrophic 100 million AD mass extinction. Biology Lichens are composite organisms made out of algaes and different types of fungus, with the fungus providing a protective outer layer, and the algae providing nourishment from within. Lichen trees are sturdy and superficially tree-like in form, and may grow up to three metres in height. Instead of the soft fleshy bodies of Human era lichens, they have hard, robust trunks built up from dead fungal fiber accumulated in the tree's core. Lichen trees are hollow and fall of small holes, allowing sufficiently small organisms to live inside them. As they are not true plants, they have no leaves: they have only a wide trunk and a number of bare branches. In this way, they are somewhat evocative of Human era dead trees. To photosynthesize and gather moisture, lichen trees trail feathery algal structures like curtains in the humid air. They reproduce by growing large sacs filled with assemblages of both lichen and fungal spores. These sacs explode upon any contact, so their dispersal is easily aided by large animals brushing past the trees. Lichen trees also grow their own kind of fruit, a diamond-shaped "lichen pod" or "lichen tree pod" which is used as food by several species. Ecology The lichen tree is an important species in the Northern Forest. Animals such as squibbons and forest flish use it for roosting, and all the known terasquid feed on its fruits. One species of flish, the hornbill flish, is specially adapted to feed on the fruit of lichen trees, cracking them open with its large, heavy "beak". The lichen tree itself also benefits from animals coming near it, as they may burst its spore sacs, allowing it to reproduce. The lichen tree also has a close symbiotic relationship with the slithersucker, a giant predatory slime mould. The slithersucker makes its home in the hollow algal core of the lichen tree, creeping out to drape itself over a branch at certain times of the day to catch prey. If the slithersucker does catch something, parts of the animal with inevitably drop to the forest floor, providing nutrients for the lichen tree as well as the slithersucker. Appearances In the documentary Lichen trees appear in the background of "Welcome to the Future" and "The Tentacled Forest". In the cartoon series In the ''Future is Wild'' cartoon series, lichen trees appear in the background in "Be True to Your Crew", "Sweet Home Pangaea II", He Might Be Giant", "Cure for the Common Megasquid Cold", and "Queen of the Squibbons, Part 1" and Part 2. In the manga Lichen trees appear in the background in "Northern Forest". At one point, a megasquid which is tripped up by a colony of squibbons falls into a lichen tree, breaking it down. List of appearances *''The Future Is Wild'' **1x01. Welcome to the Future **1x13. The Tentacled Forest *''The Future Is Wild: A Natural History of the Future'' *''The Future Is Wild'' manga **08. Northern Forest *''The Future Is Wild'' animated series **1x10. Be True to Your Crew (cameo) **1x14. Sweet Home Pangaea II (cameo) **1x21. He Might Be Giant (cameo) **1x23. Cure For the Common Megasquid Cold (cameo) **1x24. Queen of the Squibbons, Part 1 (cameo) **1x25. Queen of the Squibbons, Part 2 (cameo) *''The Future Is Wild: The Living Book'' In other languages Navigation Category:Plants and other flora Category:Fungi, algaes, moulds and lichens Category:Colonial organisms Category:Organisms of 200 million AD Category:Organisms of Pangaea II Category:Organisms of the Northern Forest Category:200 million AD